Team Dynetics wins $130M contract for Army’s first 100kW-class
laser weapon system

Dynetics,
along with its partners Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce and MZA Associates, has
been awarded a $130 million contract to build and test the U.S. Army Space and Missile
Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command’s High Energy Laser Tactical
Vehicle Demonstrator program, a 100-kilowatt class laser weapon system.

“High energy laser weapons have been a
system that the United States has wanted to add into their defense portfolio
since the invention of the laser,” said Ronnie Chronister, Dynetics senior vice
president of contracts. “We are glad to
be selected to build this new and safe weapon system that will provide a
simple, yet cost-effective approach in theater.”

Team Dynetics is
bringing together more than 70 years of directed energy experience. As the
prime contractor, Dynetics will be responsible for final assembly and
integration and testing of the system. Lockheed Martin, the laser weapon system integrator, will
provide the laser weapon subsystem and Rolls-Royce LibertyWorks will design the
integrated power and thermal management system.

The team will build and integrate the laser
weapon system onto an Army medium tactical vehicle platform and conduct field
testing at White Sands Missile Range.

A new, locally owned coffee shop will be serving up espresso, lattes, cold brew, matcha and much more at the Stovehouse mixed-use development on Governors Drive.

Charlie Foster’s, founded by Huntsville natives Austin Jenkins and Hollie Jenkins, will offer high-quality coffee drinks while providing employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The 1,850-square-foot space will be adjacent to the food garden and include a private 500-square-foot outdoor patio for patrons. Charlie Foster’s is slated to open this fall.

“My parents, Debra and Alan Jenkins, founded Merrimack Hall in
2006 to give people with special needs a venue to practice the performing
arts,” said Austin. “I’ve been lucky enough to see the impact they have made
first hand, and I want to do something similar with Charlie Foster’s. We
believe more businesses can offer employment to people with intellectual and
physical disabilities.

“Our goal is to create an environment of inclusion and
encouragement for our special needs community. All the while, we will be
serving outstanding coffee in a very hip, industrial space.”

Classifying itself as a “multi-roaster” coffee shop, Charlie
Foster’s will serve a variety of beans from roasters around the country, so
guests can experience an array of options and flavors. There will also be
plenty of cold and hot teas and pastries to choose from.

“We’re delighted to have identified Redstone Gateway as the
location of our new headquarters,” said Rich Sorelle, president/CEO at Abaco
Systems. “This new facility will provide us with much- needed additional space and
will be vital in ensuring that we can fulfill our commitments to our customers
as our business continues to grow.”

Redstone
Gateway is a mixed-use, class-A office park being developed by Corporate Office
Properties Trust and Jim Wilson & Associates. As a result of this
transaction, the building is 100 percent pre-leased. Abaco intends to occupy
its space late this year.

“Abaco
Systems has had a strong presence in Huntsville for over 30 years,” said COPT’s
Chief Operating Officer Paul Adkins. “We’re thrilled that they have decided to
make Redstone Gateway their home to be closer to their U.S. government
contracting customers, to have access to walkable amenities, and to use new
facilities as a recruiting tool.

“Their
lease, along with other recent leases, highlights the value proposition of
Redstone Gateway.”

CFD Research Awarded $50M SBIR
Phase III Project

CFD Research has been awarded a Small Business
Innovation Research Phase III contract from the U.S. Army Contracting Command, to
develop environment analysis tools, models, and test capabilities to
characterize weather environment effects on the performance of weapon systems
and sensors. The five-year contract has a ceiling value of $49.6 million.

Under this contract, the CFD Research
team will evaluate environment and weather effects on weapon systems, sensors,
and hypersonic vehicles. Huntsville-based companies Integration Innovation Inc.
(i3) and IERUS Technologies join CFD Research as subcontractors for this award.

“CFD Research and our partners,
through this contract, will expand the knowledge base of effects on flight
vehicles and sensors and provide critical insight into the design and
performance of next-generation weapon systems,” said Steve Cayson, CFD Research
chief operating officer.

Mcmullan Named
Huntsville Market Executive

SmartBank has named long-time banker
John McMullan as market executive.

McMullan has more than 30 years of
banking experience in the Huntsville area, most recently as executive vice president
and market president for Southern States Bank.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in
business administration from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and is a
graduate of the University of Wisconsin’s BAI Graduate School of Banking. He is
also a graduate of the Alabama School of Banking at the University of South
Alabama.

An active member of the Huntsville
community, he is a member of the Downtown Huntsville Rotary Club and the
Huntsville Committee of 100. McMullan also serves on the City of Huntsville’s
Planning Commission Board.

“I am grateful for the
opportunity to join this team and excited to work together to provide SmartBank
clients with a first-class banking experience,” said McMullan.
“SmartBank has been a great addition to the Huntsville region with a team
that is talented, efficient and committed to putting the client first.”

Great
Harvest Bread Co. Opening at Merchants Square

Great Harvest Bread Co. is
launching its second Alabama location at the The Shops at Merchants Square, RCP Companies announced.

Each Great Harvest bakery and café
creates its own menu which may include gourmet sandwiches (including vegetarian
options), espresso and coffee bar, artisan bread and other locally sourced
specialties.

Great Harvest uses wheat from
farms in Montana and bakes its breads every day from scratch.

“With our locally curated menu,
you know you’ll be getting real food that tastes great,” said Sangeetha Bathala,
owner of Great Harvest Huntsville, “We plan to source coffee and produce from
local farmers and vendor and make our food the right way, with wholesome
ingredients and from scratch, so you can feel good about eating our treats.”

Mercury Systems Dedicates Expanded Advanced
Microelectronics Center

A Massachusetts-based aerospace and defense company is increasing
its operations in Alabama.

Mercury Systems expanded its
Advanced Microelectronics Center in Huntsville with a 24,000-square-foot
facility for RF and digital processing technology, including 5,000 square feet
of lab space with secure production capabilities.

“Our AS9100D-certified Huntsville
facility now has even more capability, enabling us to continue providing very
advanced, leading mixed-signal processing solutions that support our prime customers
in the development of the next-generation radar, electronic warfare and ELINT
systems critical to maintaining dominance of the electromagnetic spectrum,”
said Neil Austin, vice president and general manager of Mercury’s Embedded
Sensor Processing group.

Adtran has extended its SmartOS-enabled portfolio
of broadband access solutions with a new residential and small business
gateway.

Operators can now expedite the delivery of
ultra-fast internet services — leveraging recent investments in building
multi-Gigabit access networks so that customers can have the richest broadband
experience independent of location, device or infrastructure.

Huntsville-based Adtran is the leading
provider of next-generation open networking and subscriber experience solutions

The new carrier-grade, SmartOS-enabled
residential and small business gateway provides the ability to deliver highly
competitive broadband—up to 700Mbps—without service or customer disruptions.

“The design philosophy with
SmartOS is to give service providers a single, open source-based, secure
software framework so that providers gain consistency and commonality to reduce
testing or qualification cycles and increase speed to market for new and
innovative services,” said Adtran Senior Vice President of Subscriber Solutions
& Experience Jeff McInnis. “We can significantly reduce the cost and
resources required to introduce new solutions into a network and help our
customers bring better services to their subscribers through our feature-rich,
SmartOS platform—enhancing the experience for everyone.”